It’s Blooming Time in Fernbank Forest

Spring brings a sea of color to Fernbank Forest. This 65-acre old-growth forest with a high diversity of many types of plants, including dozens of different species of native wildflowers. The yearly display of wildflowers peaks in the spring, filling the forest with vibrant blooms of color in February and March, sunlight easily streams through the canopy while trees are still leafless, coaxing the ephemeral wildflowers up from beneath the surface of the soil.

They emerge quickly and bloom for just a few weeks, enjoying the longer days and abundant sunshine. Soon after blooming they (hopefully) get pollinated and set their seed, then vanish back to their roots, not to be seen again until next year.

March and April are often the highlight of spring wildflower season, but Fernbank Forest generally has at least one species blooming from February through November—so keep your eyes on the ground throughout the year and you’re likely to see something new each visit.

About

At Fernbank Museum, there’s much more than dinosaurs and giant-screen films. Even with our website, e-newsletters, Facebook pages and Twitter updates, there’s still a lot we’d like to share with you. This blog is an opportunity for the people that keep Fernbank running and constantly expanding, to share stories from their point of view. We hope you’ll enjoy these first-hand, behind-the-scenes glimpses of what goes into keeping a world-class natural history museum running. As always, we’d love to hear your feedback on these stories, to hear your personal experiences and hear any suggestions for topics.
Happy reading!